Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I rummaged around shutterstock and stumbled over this picture. It encompasses everything (historical time period, young farm girl) but the romance. Still, I think it makes a lovely cover. What do you think?

Ann Angel's Freedom will be available first week of June at Amazon and Smashwords. Links will follow.

OK, that's me back into the swing of things. It seems that the pills (tiny pink ones) help with my blood pressure very well. So I can run full steam ahead. Yeah!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I am currently converting my historical romance novel "Ann Angel's Freedom" into eBook format. The cover I used for the print books will not do since it doesn't look good enough as thumbnail. Now I made two tile-dummies to see which one I should take. I realized that many historical covers have people on it (although less dressed than on mine). On the other hand, with the first cover, the title is much more visible. What would you say?

Here are the dummies:

Tell me your opinion. If you think I should try something totally different, I'll listen to suggestions. Here are some more information about this story:

Based on facts, the novel tells the story of Ann Angel Waldmann whose father decides to accept their Counts offer to buy their freedom. It is set in the rural area around Osnabrueck at the turn of the 18th century, a time when old values are questioned. In spite of new ideas, individual freedom is a frightening dream for most people. It is a time of change, where Ann Angel Waldmann, daughter of a rich farmer, has to cope with the obstacles life puts in her way. Distracted, she overlooks her growing attraction to the reeve who is in charge of investigating unsettling events in her home.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I just wanted to let you know that due to my blood-pressure, which is through the roof, I will have to see the doc more often than I like. I've always been an impatient patient, so it's going to be tough ... for him. It also means that my already erratic update schedule will be even more so.

Still, I won't stop translating. I'm planning to bring out my two historical novels (with strong romantic subplots) as eBooks by the end of the month or the beginning of the next. No fixed date yet.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

since I write for kids and teens myself, it is no surprise that I love to read YA and MG stories as well. So I filled my eBook-reader with many stories aimed at readers from 8 to 17 years of age. One novel for the lower end of this age group is Dragonfriend by Roger Eschbach:

I picked up the book because the blurb intrigued me. I like new takes on the Arthurian legend and this promised to be fun. I didn't regret the decision. This is a wonderful story with nicely rounded characters and many interesting twists on details of the Arthurian legend.

I liked the main character immediately. He was just the kind of boy I used to be (except that I was a girl). I liked the way he planned nearly always ending up with unexpected results. The fantasy creatures fitted the world without feeling artificial.

The only real problem I had was with the language. In the beginning, it was aimed at middle grade readers with a humorous undertone that worked very well. Once Leonard, the dragonfriend, entered the magic forest, the tone changed, became darker, and Leonard began to sound much more grown up. Toward the end of the novel, the story had changed to one for the lower end of the YA reading range. This did not stop me from enjoying the novel thoroughly but might be off-putting for other readers.

I hope Roger Eschbach will write a sequel featuring the spunky Maid Glennys (the one Leonard fell in love with) and the Brownie (my favorite character).

Friday, May 4, 2012

It's finally there (after telling so much about it on Twitter already).

Genre: YA fantasy

About: Thief-in-training Amadi has to steal the phoenix, befriend a sphinx, and rescue a djinn to fight a power-hungry sorcerer before she learns that women are not inferior to men.Amadi realizes how much she hates being a girl when her half-sister is unwillingly engaged to an elderly gold-smith. She manages to become apprenticed to a thief where she lives as a boy more often than not. But when her Helping Hand is murdered, her oath of revenge lands her smack dab in the path of an assassin hired to kill her and a jackal-headed god with the same purpose. Now, her only defense is the threadbare tunic of a young man and her training as a thief.

The story is available in one volume or in three separate volumes. It is also available in German.

Friends

About Me

Katharina Gerlach was born in Germany in 1968. She and her three
younger brothers grew up in the middle of a forest in the heart of the
Luneburgian Heather. After romping through the forest with imagination
as her guide, the tomboy learned to read and disappeared into magical
adventures, past times or eerie fairytale woods.

She didn’t stop at reading. During her training as a landscape
gardener, she wrote her first novel, a manuscript full of a beginner’s
mistakes. Fortunately, she found books on Creative Writing and soon her
stories improved. For a while, reality interfered with her writing but
after finishing a degree in forestry and a PhD in Science she returned
to her vocation. She likes to write Fantasy, Science Fiction and
Historical Novels for all age groups.

At present, she is writing at her next project in a small house near
Hildesheim, Germany, where she lives with her husband, three children
and a dog. Katharina Gerlach has had various short stories published in
Germany as well as a non-fiction e-book in US-Fantasy author Holly
Lisle’s “The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About …” series.